Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Parks and Recreation Department

TO:	Mayor and Commissioners
FROM:	Ernie Shaw, Interim Director
CC:	David Corliss, City Manager; Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager; Casey Toomay, Budget Manager
Date:	Tuesday, July 28, 2009
RE:	Department Information

Lawrence Parks and Recreation operates/manages/maintains:  

2 Community Centers

3 Recreation Centers

    Consisting of:

          3 Full-Sized Gyms

          1 Small Gym  Used for Gymnastics

          2 Game Rooms/Area

          2 Racquetball Courts

          4 Weight/Cardio Rooms

          10 Meeting/Class Rooms

          1 Spinning Room (10 bikes)                   

53 parks and open spaces,

    Measuring 3,535 acres

    Consisting of:

          33 Athletic Fields 

          30 Playgrounds

          19 Picnic/Shelter Areas

          11 Tennis Courts

          16 Outdoor Basketball Courts

          2 Skateparks

          2 Disc Golf Courses

          2 Off-Leash Dog Parks

4 Aquatic Facilities

3 Cemeteries

29 Roundabouts

1 Nature Center

1 Golf Course

70 Miles of Biking, Walking and Hiking Trails

Downtown area and landscaped areas throughout the community

Miles of landscaped medians/ right-of-way areas

· More than 450 programs and classes are offered each season through LPRD 

· 23 percent more classes were offered in 2008, resulting in a 6.4 percent increase in revenue over the previous year  

· There was an 11.2 percent increase in participant enrollments from 2006 to 2008

· The department has taken responsibility for the youth Hoopsters basketball leagues in 2008 – 41 teams in 2008, approximately 410 children

· LPRD youth sports recreational basketball leagues saw an increase of over 75 children, totaling nearly 1,000 children, in 2008

· Parks and Recreation became the administrator of the Douglas County Amateur Baseball Association in 2009 and had 36 teams in league play, approximately 432 children

· LPRD recreational baseball leagues had 1,400 children participate in its leagues in 2009

· Over the years, the number of practices and games played in LPRD youth sports leagues have been reduced to accommodate the large number of enrollees

· Lawrence has lost 6 ½ gyms used for multi-purpose programming in the community at Sport to Sport and the University of Kansas Robinson Gym.

· U.S.D. 497 is currently looking at reducing the amount of hours outside organizations can use school facilities beginning in the 2009-10 school year due to budget constraints

· Adult indoor sports (basketball and volleyball) saw increases in participation in 2008 and so far in 2009 all indoor sports have continued to see this trend continue

· Offering more diversity in programming, the department has added women’s and coed basketball leagues in the past few years

· Open Gym, or freeplay, has been cut from roughly 20 hours a week five years ago to an average of 5 to 8 hours a week at the city’s recreation centers today.

· There were 638,133 experiences with parks and recreation services and programs in the community in 2008